RACE BONUS INFO

The NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus is $150,000 at Sears Point for leading the points and winning the race.(Dale Jarrett last won the award, $10,000 at Daytona) The $340,000 annual award is paid at $10,000 per race to the point leader at the end of each event if he is also the winner. The award increases by $10,000 each week the it goes unclaimed. If the point leader is not the race winner at the end of the year, the balance of the award is distributed among the top-10 finisher in the point standings(6-18-2000)

PREVIEW, FACT SHEETS and MISC News

Some Sears Point Stats: Most Sears Point poles: Ricky Rudd - 4. Nine of the 11 Sears Point races have been won from the Top 10 - 82%. Five of Wally Dallenbach's six WC Top 5s have been in road course races, Sears Point - 3, Watkins Glen - 2. Jeff Gordon's last Top 10 road course races: Average finish - 2.3 (TNN Stats)(6-23-2000)

Rain Tires: from this weeks Goodyear Tire Facts: "...we will have our Goodyear Eagle wet racing tires on hand ...just in case". But the weather in Sonoma/Napa Valley, CA is looking good for the weekend with no rain forecast, hot during the day(90's), cool at night(50's)(Goodyear Tire Notes)(6-22-2000)

Sears Point Stuff: Out of the 11 races held at Sears Point Raceway, six of those have been won by three drivers - two that are entered in this weekend's race, Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace. Retired driver Ernie Irvan won two, while Gordon and Wallace have visited victory lane twice. Jeff Gordon has won the past two Save Mart 350's at Sears Point Raceway. Car owners Robert Yates and Rick Hendrick each have two wins at this track, the most for car owners. The farthest back a winner has started to win a race at Sears Point is 13th - in 1991, Davey Allison worked his way through the field and course to win his only road course victory. The pole position seems to be the place to start at Sears Point - four winners have started from the pole to win a race on the road course(NASCAR PR)(6-22-2000)

QUALIFYING, PRACTICE and RESULTS news and links

Sears Point Winner: #24-Jeff Gordon wins his sixth road course race in a row and his 2nd win of the 2000 season. The win also is career win 51 which moves him ahead of Rusty Wallace, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson on the all time win list at 8th by himself. #40-Sterling Marlin was 2nd his first top five of the year. #13-Robby Gordon and #25-Jerry Nadeau had their first top tens of the 2000 season. See results at NOL and Racin' Network(6-25-2000)

Happy Hour Practice is over at Sears Point. #43-John Andretti was the fastest at 96.764mph. #32-Scott Pruett was 2nd fastest. #6=Mark Martin and #28-Ricky Rudd got together and Martin spun but no major damage to either car. Martin has a slipping clutch and the team will need to change it. #25-Jerry Nadeau had transmission problems and may need to change it plus spun during practice. #13-Robby Gordon looks like the added some black coloring to the CD-2 decal on his hood, so it's a little easier to see. Pole sitter #2-Rusty Wallace lost his brakes completely once and almost a 2nd time(he was 18th fastest). #66-Darrell Waltrip lost an engine early in Happy Hour, #31-Mike Skinner has an oil leak #10-Johnny Benson had to be pushed off the course not sure waht went wrong. See the speeds at NOL, That's Racin' or Racin' Network. See notes of the day at NOL: Save Mart/Kragen 350 Saturday notebook(6-24-2000)

2nd Round Qualifying is over at Sears Point. #75-Wally Dallenbach was the fastest at 97.754mph which would had been 20th in first round. #27-Mike Bliss also raced into the field and was 27th. Of the 21 drivers 26th thru 46th, only three stood on their first round efforts, #21-Sadler, #66-Waltrip and #90-Simo and all made the race. Of the 18 drivers who made 2nd round attempts all but two(#'s 17 and 97) went faster and eight raced into the field. Mark Simo qualified the #77 Jasper Engines Ford for Robert Pressley, but failed to make the top 36th and can only assume Pressley will start the car using a provisional. #97-Chad Little will use his 9th provisional starting spot in 16 races. #12-Mayfield and #93-Blaney use their first provisionals of the year. The three drivers missing the race were: #60-Geoffrey Bodine(35th in owners points), #14-Rick Mast(43rd) and #71-RK Smith(45th). For more info on provisionals see the Provisional Status page. See the starting grid at NOL, That's Racin' or Racin' Network. See a story on the 2nd round at SpeedVision(6-24-2000)

Saturday AM Practice at Sears Point. #3-Dale Earhnardt was the fastest at 97.794mph(would had been 17th in 1st round qualifying). Twenty-two drivers were faster then the 36th fastest speed in 1st round. The three drivers that need speed to get in the race, #27-Bliss, #71-RK Smith and #9-Compton all were slower then the 36th fastest speed of 96.532mph, but Bliss was close. See the speeds at NOL and Racin' Network. 2nd round qualifying is at 1:45pm/et(6-24-2000)

First Round qualifying is over at Sears Point. #2-Rusty Wallace is on the pole with a new track record of 99.309mph, his 6th pole of the 2000 season. The old record was 98.711mph by Jeff Gordon in 1998. On the outside pole is #44-Kyle Petty with a speed of 98.639mph. 46 drivers made attempts, 23 were faster then their practice speeds and 23 were slower. If things stayed the same, the following three drivers/teams would miss the race: #9-Stacy Compton(36th in owners points), #27-Mike Bliss(40th) and #71-RK Smith(45th). For more info see my Provisional Status page. For 1st round speeds see NOL, That's Racin' or Racin' Network(6-23-2000)

Provisionals at Sears Point: With week 16 of the Winston Cup season comes another provisional allotment for all teams attempting their 16th start, see the Provisional Status page for rules and Owners Points standings. Teams/Drivers who are out of provisionals after Pocono are #66-Darrell Waltrip, #44-Kyle Petty, #60-Geoffrey Bodine, and #27-Mike Bliss. The next time provisionals are added won't come until Darlington on Labor Day Weekend(6-20-2000)UPDATE: since all four teams/drivers made their 16th attempt, they have a provisional to use at Sears Point, if they are high enough in owners points. Petty is in the top 25 and has made the race. Waltrip is 27th and looks safe, but in the worst case, he could use could use the champ provisional now and is assured of making the race. Bodine as it stands presently is 37th and is in position to use a provisional. Bliss needs to find some speed or have a team deeper in the Owners Points fall into the lower 37(6-23-2000)

Some First Round Notes: The #43 STP Pontiac making it's last start as the primary sponsor on the car is STP day glo orange on the side, and STP logo is on the hood and 1/4 panels. #22-Ward Burton got the left side tires into the dirt, lost control, hit the tire barrier, turned over once. Burton is ok but will have to go to the backup car for 2nd round and the race. The #13-Robby Gordon Ford has Menards on the 1/4 panels, and CD-2 on the hood but it is very hard to see(6-23-2000)

Friday Practice is over at Sears Point: Nice surprise, #44-Kyle Petty was the fastest at 98.932mph, 2nd was #23-Boris Said. Slowest was #93-Dave Blaney at 94.775mph, in fact the three slowest were all rookies. The track record is 98.711mph set by Jeff Gordon in June 1998. See the speeds at NASCAR Online, That's Racin' or Racin' Network(6-23-2000)

Qualifying Order is up for the Save Mart/Kragen 350 at Sears Point. See the links above. First scheduled out is #88-Dale Jarrett, last is #20-Tony Stewart. 46 drivers are scheduled to make an attempt for 43 spots. Qulaifying is at 5:00pm/et and on ESPN2(6-23-2000)

How to break a tie during qualifying? When drivers are tied for a starting spot during
qualifying, it is broken by owners points standings(not drivers). For
provisionals standings see the Jayski Provisional
Status page(2-20-2000)

Links: Practice speeds, qualifying and results can be found at these
sites: NASCAR Online,

TRACK/RACE NEWS

Gilligan's Island REPOST and an UPDATE: is the nickname for the final nine pit stalls, which are marooned in the center of Turn 11. Teams cannot get back across the track from the location. If a driver crashes, his car has to be repaired there. If a driver falls out, his team must stay until the race is over(Times-Dispatch), also hear drivers are held 20 seconds to 'even' things out(6-27-1999) also see story on it at That's Racin': Pitting on Gilligan's Island feels like a 3-hour tour(6-28-1999/6-23-2000)UPDATE: the area between the frontstretch pits and the entrance to Turn 11 is the auxiliary pit area is known as Gilligan's Island due to its castoff nature. Due to the configuration of that area of the pits, their assigned official holds teams pitting there 18 seconds before they can rejoin the race(NOL) and an update story at That's Racin': 2nd-round qualifying turns into Winston Cup version of `Survivor'. The cars who start 35th to 43rd pit in Gilligans Island(6-24-2000)

Sears Point Trading Cards: The California Highway Patrol has partnered with Sears Point Raceway, NASCAR and nine Winston Cup stars to produce a series of collectible trading cards for the Save Mart/Kragen 350 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Sears Point, June 22-25. The trading cards, which will be distributed free of charge by the CHP to both children and adults, are designed not only as a collectible but they will also deliver an extremely important message: Do Not Drink and Drive. As part of its Designated Driver Program, the CHP will have an inscription on the back of each card that reminds people to have a designated driver if they plan on drinking. The cards will be handed out in complete sets. NASCAR Winston Cup stars who have lent their images free of charge to the program are: Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, Terry Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart, Rusty Wallace and 2000 Grand Marshal Ernie Irvan. The set will also feature a card with an overhead picture of Sears Point Raceway. The front of each card - with the exception of the Sears Point card - will boast an image of the driver and/or his car and the logos of NASCAR, Sears Point Raceway and the CHP. The back of each card will feature statistical information, plus the Designated Driver Program message. The CHP will distribute the cards during the NASCAR Weekend at Sears Point(Sears Point PR)(6-6-2000)

Sears Point: Sears Point Raceway will debut 2,000 of its Hillside Terrace seats at this month's Save Mart/Kragen 350 NASCAR Winston Cup race, it was announced by raceway officials. The track's new masterplan was approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in April. Work on the project was originally scheduled to
begin in August at the conclusion of the raceway's 2000 event season, but officials decided to expedite the process so that some enhancements would be on display for fan enjoyment, beginning with the Turn 4 Hillisde Terraces at this year's NASCAR event. The 2,000 seats will be situated in a prime spectator viewing area spanning from just before the entrance of Turn 4 through about one-quarter of The Chute. Entrance into the Turn 4 Hillside Terraces will be free on Thursday and Friday of NASCAR weekend. Cost will be $10 on Saturday and $15 on Sunday. This cost is in addition to a general admission or reserved seat ticket. Tickets for the Turn 4 Hillside Terraces are officially go on sale Friday, June 2. You can purchase tickets by calling 800-870-RACE or by visiting www.gospeedway.com and linking to Sears Point Raceway. Another enhancement will be an expansion of the raceway paddock in the area utilized as the NASCAR garage compound. The area will be enlarged by 6,200 square feet, creating additional space for Winston Cup teams. The work is being done on the east side of the garage nearest pit road. That area will be widened by 13 feet and span 480 feet in length, covering the length of the NASCAR compound(Sears Point PR)(6-2-2000)

How to Calculate Track Speeds: use the formula Speed = Distance divided by Time. Distance is Track Length, and Lap Time into Hours. Once hour is 3600 seconds, so the calculation for a 48 second lap at Daytona(2.5 miles) would be: Speed = 2.5 x (3600/48), = 2.5 x 75 = 187.500mph. For a 19 second lap at Bristol(.533 miles): Speed = .533 x (3600/19), = .533 x 189.474 = a speed of 100.990mph

DRIVER/TEAM NEWS

Relief Drivers: the heat took it's toll at Sears Point. John Andretti took over for #20-Tony Stewart after Stewart spun. Stewart was feeling nauseous. #77-Robert Pressley was relieved earlier by Boris Said who fell out of the race on lap 23 with a broken control arm on the #23 Federated Auto Parts Ford. Andretti drove Stewarts Home Depot Pontiac to a 10th place finish(6-25-2000)

Kyles Front Row Start: This will be #44 Kyle Petty's first front-row start since he was on the outside pole at Martinsville in April of 1996(Ramblings/Catchfence). His last pole? Was at 1993 in the Daytona 500(6-24-2000)

Not Cup But...Sears Point: Matt Reilly hopes the use of a 3,000-pound NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series stock car will increase awareness in the search for a missing Vallejo girl. Reilly, who lives in Rohnert Park, will drive in the Snap-On Tools/AAA 200 at Sears Point Raceway with a picture of Xiana Fairchild on the back of his #50 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which is sponsored by Groeniger and Company, Christy Concrete Products and U.S. Pipe. Fairchild, a 7-year-old girl, has been missing since December 9, 1999, when she mysteriously disappeared from a bus stop near her home. The race will be broadcast nationally on ESPN and Reilly hopes this exposure will help in finding the missing girl. Reilly has worked closely with the Polly Klaas Foundation on this project. Reilly, a Sonoma Valley High School graduate who also works for the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School at Sears Point Raceway, is expected to be one of the top drivers in the Southwest Series race on Saturday. In addition to placing Fairchild's picture on his car, Reilly will also hand out fliers throughout the weekend to promote the Polly Klaas
Foundation, which is leading the search for Xiana. For more information on volunteering in the search for Xiana
Fairchild, please call the Polly Klaas Foundation at (707) 769-1334 or visit www.mattreilly.com.(Sears Point PR)(6-24-2000)

Marcis hires driver to run the #71 Realtree Chevy at Sears Point. R.K. Smith, 62, winner of the SCCA World Challenge Championship in 1990 and '92, will be behind the wheel of Marcis' #71 Chevy at Sears Point. Marcis was injured last year and put Smith in his car for the Sears Point event, but Smith failed to qualify for the starting field(NASCAR Online)(6-20-2000)

Said to run for Spencer at Sears Point: Jimmy Spencer goes to Sears Point Raceway this weekend not only as the driver of the #26 Big K-Mart Ford Taurus, but he also makes his debut as a NASCAR Winston Cup car owner. Spencer has entered his #23 Federated Auto Parts Ford Taurus in the Save Mart/Kragen 350K Cup race. The car was built at Spencer's BGN operation located in Mooresville, NC. This is the same facility that builds BGB cars for Dick Trickle, Boris Said, and Spencer. Spencer Motor Ventures also built a NASCAR Craftsman Truck that was driven by Boris Said at Portland earlier this year. Piloting the Robert Yates' powered #23 Ford this weekend will be road-racing ace, Boris Said. Said began his NASCAR career in 1995 in the CTS. Said has had sixty-four starts in the Truck Series, and scored his only win at the road-course in Sears Point. Said went to Watkins Glen in 1998 and put Spencer's #12 BGN car on the pole, and he came back later that year to The Glen and qualified Spencer's #23 Winston Cup car fifth on the starting grid. In 1999, Said continued his Bud Pole attack by qualifying his #14 Winston Cup car second at Watkins Glen. Said has won five Bud Poles in his NASCAR career, all on road-courses. In other road-racing series, Said has won one IMSA and three SCCA championships. Veteran crew chief Richard Broome will call the shots(Spencer Motor Ventures PR)(6-20-2000)

Simo to drive the #90 at Sears Point Raceway in the Cup race. Brian Simo, current points leader in
the BF Goodrich Trans Am Series, will drive Junie Donlavey's Hills Bros Coffee #90 Ford Taurus at Sears Point Raceway in the Winston Cup race on June 25. Simo replaces regular driver Ed Berrier in the car for the race. "This is a move to help the team," said Berrier. "I lack experience on the road courses and the car we have is a pretty good road racing car. It just makes a lot of sense to put a road racing specialist in the car." Simo's experience in road course races comes from his experience in the Trans Am Series, where he has finished second in points on three different occasions. Simo has eight wins in his career in the Trans Am Series. Simo has plenty of track time at Sears Point Raceway in the Trans Am Cars and Stock Cars, but this will be his first experience in a NASCAR Winston Cup car. Berrier will return as the driver of the Hills Bros Coffee Ford at the Pepsi 400 in Daytona Beach on July 1(Keystone Marketing/Hills Bros Racing)(6-15-2000)

#50 to skip Dover? UPDATE yes and.. The #50 Midwest Transit team may skip Dover next week to focus on Michigan(NOL Notbook)(5-29-2000)UPDATE: Craven will run Michigan, then skip Pococo and Sears Point and return to action at the Pepsi 400 in Daytona(6-2-2000)

PAINT SCHEME NEWS

#33 Special Paint Scheme REPOST: Akzo Nobel Coatings has been the official paint supplier to Andy Petree Racing since Andy purchased the team from Leo Jackson. The paint on the #33 Chevy that Joe Nemechek will drive in the NAPA Auto Parts 500 at the California Speedway is a special effects version of Sikkens Autobase basecoat. Manufactured by Akzo Nobel Coatings, it was developed in conjunction with Flex Products, Inc. and utilizes their ChromaFlair Light Interference Pigments. The paint appears to change color depending on the angle from which it is viewed. This new Sikkens Autobase basecoat will be available in the Fall of 2000. The scheme will also be used at Sears Point in June(Andy Petree PR) See images of the car on the Paint Schemes page(4-24/6-22-2000)

Gordon and Snoopy? UPDATE 2: hearing #24-Jeff Gordon will run a Snoopy (from the Peanut's comic strip) in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona and/or the Brickyard 400, no official word on what the occasion is. Supposedly the car will be light metallic blue with yellow highlights, Snoopy on the hood and quarterpanels(5-29-2000)UPDATE: I hear these will not be the colors but the car will run at the Brickyard 400(5-30-2000)UPDATE 2: here is more on this scheme - the car will have a dark blue roof, fading into light blue sides with grass decal around the bottom of the #24 Chevy. Snoopy as Joe Cool character painting(DuPont paint?) his doghouse on hood and as the Red Baron character on the quarters. Even have a Woodstock jack marker(instead of the arrow). The car will supposedly be introduced at Sears Point in June and hearing it will be run at the Brickyard 400. The reason? To commemorate the 50th year for Peanuts and as a tribute to them and the Peanuts creator, the late Charles Schulz(5-31-2000)

STATS and STUFF

Manu Lap Leaders: In 4725 laps ran so far in 2000, Ford drivers have led 2098 laps, Chevy drivers have led 1522 laps, and Pontiac drivers have led 1105 laps(6-19-2000)

Top Fives: There have been 24 different Cup drivers(no new ones at Pocono) score a Top-5 in 2000....1999's total was 28 and 1998 year's total number was 27(6-19-2000)

Top Tens: There have been 31 different Cup drivers(no new ones at Pocono) score a Top-10 in 2000.....1999's total was 40 and 1998's total number was 41(6-19-2000)

Provisonal Finishes in 2000: In 105 provisonal starts(15 races x 7), drivers have accumulated 0 Wins, 2 Top 5's and 5 Top 10's. See my Provisional Finishes Page for each race finish by the provisionals starters(6-19-2000)

Lap Leader/Bonus Points: 39 drivers have led at least one Winston Cup lap in 2000. Only one driver who have made all 13 races have not lead a lap, #55-Kenny Wallace. To see who has led laps and who leads in the bonus points, see my Bonus Points Leaders Page(6-19-2000)

Consecutive Starts: Terry Labonte has 651 consecutive Winston Cup starts, Dale Earnhardt is next with 628, followed by Ricky Rudd with 589 and Rusty Wallace at 498(6-19-2000)

No Top Fives Since.... It has been a while since some drivers have had even a whiff of success on the Winston Cup circuit. Here are those with the longest streak of races without a top-five finish:

1999 winners who have not won in 2000: Terry Labonte, Joe Nemechek and John Andretti are the drivers who earned victories in 1999 and have not won yet in 2000. Two drivers who won in 1998 Bobby Hamilton and Ricky Rudd, have not won since(6-19-2000)

No Wins Ever.... Some regular drivers in Winston Cup who have never won a Cup race and how many starts they have:

One owner, three winners? That's Racin' brings up a good question. When was the last time a team owner had three different drivers win in the same season? as Jack Roush has now done this year with Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth. The last to do it was Rick Hendrick in 1989 with Darrell Waltrip (six wins), Ken Schrader (one win) and Geoffrey Bodine (one win)(That's Racin') Technically, Mark Martin is listed as the owner of Kenseth's car and Robert Corn is listed as the owner on the Burton car, but all fall under the Roush Racing umbrella(5-31-2000)

Winners: 1999 was the fifth straight year that there have been 11 different winners in a season (1995-99). Every winner in 1999 was from a multi-car team. The last time a single-car team scored a victory was by Ricky Rudd at Martinsville in September 1998(NOL)(11-24-1999)

UPDATE: Jeff Burton was the first driver to win from a provisional starting spot EVER at New Hampshire in 1999 and that is the farthest back any driver has won from since Kyle Petty won from 37th at Dover in June 1995(in 1995 37th was not a provisional starting spot). Bill Elliott also won from 38th spot in the 1988 Pepsi 400. In fact ALL the provisional starters for the race finished in the top 25 at NHIS(7-11-1999) -- UPDATE: Add Bobby Labonte as the 2nd ever provisional winners by winning the 1999 NAPA 500 at Atlanta(11-21-1999)